Barendonk Holsteins

The dairy farm comprises 220 milking cows and
140 young stock. We built the free-stall barn in 1979, and expanded it in 1988 and again
in 2005 to a total of 135 cubicles. In 2016 we have built a totally new free-stall barn with 125 cubicles. Since May 2005 we milk our cows using two Lely robotic milkers. Since
2012 we started testing CRV heifers.

LABOUR: Jan, Liesbeth and their children Ivo,
Tessa and Jens.
They also regularly have a trainee.

Milkquota: 2,100,000kg of milk with a fat reference of 4.40% and 3.55% protein.

growing maize

Feeding regime

Young stock rearing

For the first 14 days the calves are housed individually. After the individual housing calves are housed for 2 months in groups with an automatic drinking system.
After two months they are housed on straw in an open-front barn. After this the young stock is housed in cubicles in the free-stall barn.

Milking parlour

Two Lely A2 robotic milking systems.

Interesting Facts

On regular basis we have embryos and bulls for sale from our best cow families.

We are happy to take part in shows like the NRM, HHH, Cow-Expo and several regional shows. Highlights include participation in European Championships and several championship titles.

We also offer accommodation in the form of a farmer’s hotel, hikers’ cabins, a hay
hotel (sleeping in a hay loft) and two group accommodation facilities, for meetings and
overnight stays.

CRV test farm

We like to breed a good cow with
functional conformation. We are paying a
lot of attention to feet and legs and udders.
A cow that can eat a lot will also give a
lot of milk and will last a long time in the
milking herd.
With the arrival of Delta heifers on the
farm, a new dimension is added to the
love for breeding. Already 12 Delta heifers
are now donor. The heifers score high
lactation values and show also good health
characteristics. The somatic cell count is
remarkably low and claw health is good.
Every week cows are flushed now on farm
Barendonk Holsteins.

With testing the CRV heifers, also heifers
are introduced without horns: Huijben
Asterix Hennie 7337 Pp from Fasna Asterix
and Delta Juliëtte Pp from Legend. “It is a
good development” means Jan. “Animal
welfare will become very important in the
future, also in the dairy industry. Dehorning
can disrupt the rearing period.”

REMARK
We like a beautiful, productive and healthy
cow, because they are easy to work with
and last long!

Genomic selection and InSire bulls
We regularly use Insire bulls, but we do
not use more than five straws per bull
to spread risk. We consider genomic
selection as an additional tool in the search
for the best bull and bull dam.
We use SiryX semen occasionally on a
good cow.

Information products
Every four weeks we have milk recording
and besides that we have our cows
classified.